American Financial Realty Trust Appoints Harold W. Pote to Board of Trustees.

JENKINTOWN, Pa. -- American Financial Realty Trust (NYSE:AFR), a real estate investment trust focused on acquiring and leasing properties occupied by financial institutions, announced today that Harold W. Pote, renowned financial industry leader and director of public companies, has joined the Company's Board of Trustees. Mr. Pote will serve as an independent board member as determined under the New York Stock Exchange listing standards, and will occupy a position on the Board of Trustees' Audit, Compensation and Human Resources and Finance Committees.

Mr. Pote's deep banking and financial services experience includes serving as Vice Chairman of Retail Financial Services for JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he was responsible for bank acquisitions. Additionally, Mr. Pote was Executive Vice President and head of Chase Regional Banking. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase & Co., he was a founding partner of The Beacon Group, a private investment partnership that was acquired in July 2000 by Chase Manhattan Corporation (now JPMorgan Chase & Co.). Before co- founding The Beacon Group, Mr. Pote was Chief Executive Officer of First Fidelity Bancorporation.

"We are fortunate to add to our board, a trustee that will help enrich our board oversight and governance from the perspective of international, national and regional financial institutions, AFR's key areas of specialization," said Nicholas S. Schorsch, president and chief executive officer. "Hal is very well respected as an industry thought leader, and brings a rich corporate and community consciousness to AFR with him. We know he will enhance our Company and add value to business operations."

Mr. Pote serves on the board of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE). In addition, he serves on the boards of the Museum of Arts & Design, Drexel University, and the Spina Bifida Foundation, of which he is president. He previously served on the board of SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline). He also previously served on the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and the Intelligence Oversight Board, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Pote holds a Bachelors Degree from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard University.

About American Financial Realty Trust

American Financial Realty Trust is a self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust that acquires properties from, and leases properties to, regulated financial institutions. The Company owns and manages its assets primarily under long-term triple net and bond net leases with banks. The Company is led by chief executive officer Nicholas S. Schorsch and non-executive chairman Lewis S. Ranieri. The Company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AFR. For more information on American Financial Realty Trust, visit the Company's website at http://www.afrt.com.